I’m still trying to put together a survey of the various jazz residencies and regular small-scale gigs which are on in Glasgow, but at the moment the scene seems to be changing as quickly as I can compile anything.
Here are some things I’ve spotted recently:
- Kudos Bar on the corner of Waterloo Street and Wellington Street is putting on gigs by the Kudos Big Band every Sunday from 2pm. The band, which features “some of the best musicians on the Scottish Jazz scene” is directed by Ryan Quigley. Tenor saxophonist Michael Deans also has a gig there at 5pm on Saturdays.
- Is Brel still putting on live jazz on a Saturday afternoon, or indeed any live music? Or are they simply not updating their website? There’s nothing listed on the entertainment section of their site, and I’ve not seen any mention of any music on there on listings sites since Celtic Connections finished. I keep meaning to head over to the West End some Saturday to find out what’s going on, but it’s a bit away from my part of town.
- What was Laurie’s Acoustic Music Bar in King Street is now called Avant Garde. The title might suggest that their music policy is going to consist of unbroken Helmut Lachenmann and Evan Parker, but when I passed on Saturday afternoon, trad band Dave Wilson and the Uptown Shufflers were playing in their regular weekly spot. And it was stowed out. And people were dancing!